Armoooo wrote:Squizzy1970 wrote:Fergie, Birss, Mini-Riewoldt (Jones), and Gwilt will need to be much improved to hang onto a spot after next year.
I don't know about Birss, I actually rate him...
He may not be the most skillful player going around but he is good around the stoppages, gets plenty off clearances and his hard at the ball and man and to top it all off he knows how to kick a goal, I think if he can gain some confidence he could be quite a find for us.
He averaged 6.33 tackles in his last 3 games this season
I don't rate Birss much, but agree that he's handy enough that of the 4 named, as of today he's not in danger. My problems with him are his disposal, and his light frame... if he can correct his kicking, i'll firget the light frame as he does have a bit of a nose for the ball, and if he's using the ball well, I'll be happy with him as a player than plays more physically than his body really allows for. He's too light to be a tagger, but I'd worry if he bulked up he'd lose pace.
What I expect and do like of Birss is he raises the bar for the bottom end of the Saints midfield. IMO, it's his play that has ultimately made McQualter expendable (Birss, while certainly leaving something to be desired didn't look out of place playing AFL level), and it's his spot that Jones will be fighting to take in order to maintain himself after '08. The danger to both is that of course Armitage, Howard and any midfield draftees will also be fighting for this spot. Birss becomes the barometer for depth midfielders at St. K.
If he can improve, great. If he plateau's, he's probably safe through '08, but if he can't be surpassed in '09 without significan't improvement there's an issue.